The King's Ransom: A Legacy set ablaze by Heat?

Well it finally came, albeit 23 minutes into the show (when we were told it was going to be during the first ten..smh). Now time to soak in what just happend, and reflect on what this means for Lebron.

A super team was just formed right before our eyes. Lebron willingly chose to join two other superstars in hopes of attaining his goal of winning a championship. In choosing the Miami Heat, Lebron gave up a lot of money (he could have made $126 mil with Cleveland, and probably will make around $100 mil with the Heat) and sacrificed his "brand name" just a bit. In terms of basketball legacy, question marks will be forever forged into his name, as well as any championship he may win. When Shaq decided to join the Lakers, the news was huge. The most dominant player in the game was coming to join a young, on the brink star, by the name of Kobe Bryant. This move forever changed the legacy of Kobe in some people's minds. After winning 3 straight rings, the "but's" began to swirl like a tropical storm transforming into a hurricane. "But, Kobe never won without Shaq." "But Kobe had the most dominant player in the game." The same "but's" are now fully applicable to Lebron, if he is able to win a ring, and this is unquestioned. (Much love to two of the best in the game- Wade and Bosh, but they arent on the same level as KB24 and Lebron.)

Speaking in the language of basketball again, I'm not sure this was the BEST move for Lebron. In Chicago, he had an elite PG, a superstar in his own right in Carlos Boozer, plenty of help off the bench, a slaher/finisher in Luol Deng, and a budding young player in Taj Gibson. The perfect compliments for the alpha dog. In Miami he now must sacrifice a little, and play in a sort of "back-seat" role to D-Wade, or, to put it better, share the spotlight (and shots.) As we have seen in years past with teams trying to do much the same, for example,the Lakers, who assembled somewhat of a "super team", with "at-the end of their career" stars such as Karl Malone, and The Glove, it failed miserably. Aging superstars, who were giving the one final push for the one thing that had been out of their reach for their entire careers, could not put their ego's aside, and sacrifice for the betterment of the team, what makes you think 3 players in the primes of their career will be willing to do that? With every scenario, there are exceptions, such as the big 3 in Boston, however, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce are completely different personalities than Lebron James and D-Wade. Chris Bosh seems to be the type of player that is capable of doing such a thing, but the other two, I'm not as convinced.

Is Lebron really the type of player that will defer to D-Wade? Is D-wade the type of player who is OK with Lebron James taking all the shots down the stretch? Will their be jealousy between the 3 stars if one is getting more attention and recognition than the others? Whats going to happen when two players who need the ball in their hand the majority of the time to make plays, share the same uniform? These are all legitimate questions in Miami. Not to mention, they only have 4 players on their roster as of today. Who can they get to compliment those 3? There is still major work to be done in Miami. With Chicago, those same questions are not applicable. It would have been Lebrons team, hands down, with the perfect cast of role players, much better than in Cleveland. It will be interesting to see how the Super 3 are able to handle themselves in Miami-WADE county.

Leborn James has now been set in many people's eyes as a "sell out," unable to take on the task of leading a team to the promised land, such as Michael, and Kobe (who also went through major struggles early on in their careers, in terms of team success." As soon as he was drafted by Cleveland, he was viewed as the savior of all saviors, bringing glory back to a city still dwelling on memories of Jim Brown. He was supposed to lead his team, He was supposed to be the 2nd coming of Michael Jordan, if not better. All of those things now are flipped into a negative. Granted, success is measured by championships, and by signing in Miami, Lebron clearly put that beyond trying to become an unprecedented icon, as well as going for the fattest stack on money on the table, however, by waiting till after both of those players had committed to Miami, he sold his soul to the basketball Gods. Kobe was in LA first. The organization brought in Shaq, not the players. Kobe did was he was supposed to do with the gift that had been laid in his lap, (by no doing of his own.) Lebron purposely waited before making his decision, to see which road was the easiest. If it is ok for people to question Kobe's rings with Shaq, it will definitely be more than OK, and almost expected, with Lebron's, IF they are able to mesh, and play together.

The way Lebron James has handled this entire free agent situation is regretful and disgraceful, when speaking of a superstar. Not only did he drag this thing out and use it to center the spotlight around himself, he undermined his peers and new teammates. According to Dan Gilbert's letter, he was never in contact with the Cavs, and only let them know his plan 30 minutes before going on the air. He pushed an entire city away when they would be willing to do whatever he wanted. He disgraced the city by showing up to Indians games with Yankee gear on, and yet still, he was given a pass, only to shun the fans, and people of Cleveland by going on national TV and divorcing them. For a second I thought I was watching Tiger's personal life unfold on TV. Lebron alienated himself from the fan base who stuck up for him throughout his miserable playoff failures, including this last one. Now that he has walked away from them, the backlash is only just beginning. As far as the people of Cleveland go, he never existed.

With that being said, remember, this is still a business, and Lebron felt like he didn't have the best chance to win in Cleveland. He was there for 7 years, and only reached the finals once. However, in years past, the blame for such struggles were divided up amongst his "supporting cast" or lack there of in some peoples minds. (Remember, this is a team that won 60 games back to back, and had the best record in the NBA for 2 straight years.) Yes, Lebron needs to be blamed for the struggles just as much as any other player, because he was the leader and superstar of that team. Much similar to a Quaterback in the NFL who gets the praise when the team wins, and the blame when they dont. Only in this case, the blame Lebron never even caught a wiff of it. In professional sports, loyalty is a dying term. We see flickers of it every so often (the latest being Kevin Durant), and we are filled with hope, that maybe, just maybe, its a characteristic back on the rise. The fans arent owed anything special, everyone (front office, coaching staff), including Leron, could have pushed themselves a little bit more to try and make this thing work, but in the end, it didnt. Lebron James left, and he had every right to, but with being the savior of a franchise, and a bonafide MEGA Star, loyalty is very much part of the equation. Remember, he is living up to what Michael and Kobe did before him, and leaving via free agency is definitely not one of them.

As a basketball enthusiast, I am more than excited to see the South Beach Show next year. It will truly be unlike something we have ever seen, and everyone should be as excited as I am (except if you reside in Cleveland, or New York.) Pat Riley did one hell of a job, and I for one am shocked he was able to pull it off, but he is def. someone capable of working miracles like the one we just witnessed tonight. Its a good night for D-Wade, Chris Bosh, Pat Riley, the rest of the Heat organization. The bells of victory are sounding through the nightclubs and lights of downtown Miami. In signing with the Heat, Lebrons legacy may have very well been set ablaze. He better hope, for his sake, that it doesn't completely drown in the waters of South Beach like it did in Cleveland on Thursday night. The whole world now has all eyes on #6, #3, and #4.

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